


In Your Embrace

by Olives_Loves_Kanon



Category: UTAU, Vocaloid
Genre: Angst, College, F/M, Forbidden Love, Romance, Vocaloid - Freeform, utauloid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olives_Loves_Kanon/pseuds/Olives_Loves_Kanon
Summary: Kanon and Anon are finally in college with their friends and are working on their careers. As forgotten vocaloids, they hope to make it big one day. One afternoon, Kanon goes to class and she notices a very handsome young man sitting at the front of the room; the professor introduces him to the students as his assistant, Kiyoteru. Since Kanon is struggling in that subject, the teacher offers to have Kiyoteru work with her. Kanon ends up falling for him but is unsure what to do with her feelings. At the same time her sister crushes on one of the most popular guys on campus, Kaito. Due to low confidence and Kaito's fame, Anon doesn't think he could ever develop feelings for her.Sukone Tei is looked down on by most, some thinking she's simply strange, and others thinking that she is her stage persona.... a yandere! Her piercing red eyes and bone white hair set her apart from the world with only Kanon and Anon as her friends. What happens when a helping hand appears in her time of need? Will she gain a friend, or something more?Kanon x KiyoteruKaito x AnonFuture Shuu x TeiI do not own any of these characters, blah blah blah (insert legal stuff)
Relationships: Anon/Kaito, Kanon/Hiyama Kiyoteru, Mawarine Shuu/Sukone Tei





	1. Pilot

Kanon wakes up in her bedroom to the sound of giggling and sees her sister's face about 7 inches away from hers.

"WAAAAAAA, WHAT?!" Kanon yells, sitting up and pushing Anon away, who is now full on laughing.

"What'd you do that for??" She exclaims.

Anon, who is now catching her balance, says between laughs, "I got bored waiting for you to wake up, and it's hilarious. Your face was PRICELESS! Get up sleepy head! It's Monday, and already 8:30am!"

Kanon sighs and thinks to herself, _"I'll get her back later,"_ as she turns herself toward the side table and looks at the clock. It is indeed a little past 8:30am, she grumbles and sits up in her bed, not ready for the day to start.

"Come on, get dressed, you don't want to sleep in until 5 and miss school again do you?" Anon teases. Kanon just shakes her head and giggles. "Fine, get out of my room and I will" she says smiling. Anon skips happily and victoriously out of the other Kanon's room, closing the door behind her. She gets out of bed and walks over to her orange wardrobe.

Opening it, she wonders what to wear. She then spots a white crop top and a pair of blue shorts with small rips. Kanon quickly removes her fleecy purple pajamas and pulls the crop top over her head and put her shorts on. She slips on her socks and a pair of white tennis shoes, grabs her orange backpack and heads to the bathroom. She sets her bag down outside the door when she receives a text from Anon, "hurry up butthead!" the message reads.

Kanon rolls her eyes as she giggles, brushing her hair and teeth. She pulls the hair band off her wrist, ties her long, orange hair up into her usual side ponytail and walks out of the bathroom to see Anon eating breakfast in the kitchen.

Anon is wearing her favorite yellow dress with orange flowers. She completed the look with small orange stud earrings, a few orange bracelets and orange flats. She looks up at the other pupil and waves as she finishes chewing. Kanon waves back, greeting her as she goes to get some cereal for herself. She grabs the cereal box along with the milk and poured them into a bowl. Kanon goes to the drawer to get a spoon and sits across from Anon at the kitchen table.

"Hey sis, do you have your backpack this time? We aren't in high school anymore."

"Haha, very funny," Anon rolls her eyes.

"I try" Kanon chuckles and starts to eat.

As they finish their breakfast, the alarm that Kanon set on her phone for school goes off.

"Crap, time to go, are you driving?" asks Anon as she places their bowls on the counter.

"Yeah, I'll drive, let's go" Kanon answers as she grabs her keys from the coat hook behind her and heads outside to her car with Anon.

They climb in the car and Kanon turns it on and pulls out of the driveway.

"So" Kanon inquires, "What's your thing with Kaito-san?"

"Please don't."

"Why not?" Kanon giggles.

"Because I have no chance!" Exclaims Anon as they arrive at school 10 minutes early, thanks to reckless speeding.

Kanon parks next to their shared first period class, a large, simple brick building with the letter and numbers "A24" hung up beside the door in gold lettering. Kanon turns to Anon, cocking her head to the side.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a nobody!!" Anon cries bitterly with her face in her hands. "We don't have many original songs and we hardly get any gigs! We're lucky we got scholarships, we would've never even been able to afford to come here otherwise. Kaito-san is too far above me, don't you see that?"

Kanon puts her hand on Anon's shoulder, "Anon.... it's not always about popularity, you're a good person with a beautiful voice, you have a chance I promise you."

"It's not that simple sis, I'm too far out of his league."

Tears start to form in Anon's eyes as Kanon pulls her into a hug.

"Even if it's not him, you'll find someone eventually, I promise, and they'll be the lucky one."

"I love you," she continues "I'll always be here for you".

"I love you too" Anon murmurs weakly between sniffles.

"Come on, let's go to the bathroom so you can rinse off your face before we go to class."

"Okay."

Kanon smiles slightly as they both take off their seatbelts and exit the car. After closing the car doors, she locks her car and races off to the bathroom with Anon.

When there, she opens the bathroom door for herself and Anon and walks inside with her.

Anon approaches a sink and turns on the water. She dips her hands into the cold water and rinses the tears off her face.

Kanon grabs some paper towels and holds them out.

"Here, dry off your face so we can go to class."

"Thank you."

"No problem," Kanon replies as Anon finishes drying her face and throws away the paper towels.

"Come on, we should go."

The two walk out of the bathroom and go to class.

Kanon and Anon approach the door to their music arts class, smelling the fragrant flowers that line the front of the classroom as they pass by. Kanon opens the door and the two head inside.

They walk to their parallel seats and sit down, pulling out paper to write notes as people file into the classroom.

Soon after Kanon and Anon have prepared for class, Sukone Tei walks in and makes her way toward her desk next to Kanon's.

"Hello Kanon-Chan, Hi Anon-Chan!" Chimes the silver-haired girl happily and sits down next to Kanon.

"Hi Tei-Chan!" Kanon replies cheerfully as she looks at her best friend Tei and smiles.

Hiiiiii!" Anon responds and waves.

"How are you guys?"

"We're okay, you?" Anon answers, concealing her true feelings.

"I'm alright!" Tei responds giddily, but then looks around nervously and murmurs,

"People are staring at me and whispering."

The twins scan the classroom and their eyes fall upon a few of their peers, who are now glancing back and forth at their friend and whispering amongst themselves.

Kanon rolls her eyes and assures her friend, "just ignore those morons, anyone that is stupid enough to not understand that you are not your stage persona in real life isn't worth getting anxious over."

Tei looks down at her desk embarrassed, shading her face with her hand.

"Exactly, you are not actually a yandere, that's what is important, not whatever it is they're saying about you." Anon chimes in.

Tei leans her head in her hands, sighing and feeling crushed.

By this time most of their classmates have sat down in their desks and are ready to take notes. Kanon looks at the clock in the classroom, it's 8:59am. As the last of the students arrived and sat down it was 9:00am and the teacher started to speak. Absorbed in the lesson, she pays close attention, almost forgetting to take out her pencil to write notes. Time seemed to fly by and soon after, class was over. The professor dismisses the class and the three pack their things in their bags and head out classroom's exit.

Once they pass the door's threshold, Kanon looks over to Tei and asks, "..... are you okay?"

"I guess so" Tei mumbles in a low tone, kicking a rock along the stone path they're walking on.

"You really shouldn't care about what those people think of you, they don't matter," comforts Kanon.

"Yeah, they're gossiping about someone they don't know while they are in college. If anything, they're embarrassing themselves." Anon chimes in.

"Exactly."

Tei just sighs, a frown tugging on her lips. The three walk over to the table they always sit at in between periods, sit down, put their bags in their laps and start talking again.

"At least I have you guys."

Anon and Kanon's expressions soften as they embrace Tei warmly for a moment before letting go.

"So, you guys want to hang out after classes?" Tei inquires.

Anon thinks for a moment.

"Hmmmm, I don't think I have any homework, what about you sis?"

"I have a little bit of homework, but I can hang out for a while. How long I can stick around depends how much work I get done while you guys are in class."

"Sweet, where do you guys want to chill?" Tei asks happily, a small smile playing on her face.

The twins look at each other as if they had the same thought.

"Our house?" Kanon suggests.

"Sounds good, it's a little disorderly at home but it's not that bad," Anon agrees.

"You know I don't care about how clean your guys' house is," Tei giggles.

"Well I care!" Anon objects, almost pouting.

"You're such a neat freak, it isn't even messy at our place!"

Anon simply rolls her eyes and smiles as Kanon grins at her.

At this moment, Anon notices a handsome blue-haired man passing by and quickly realizes that man is Kaito.

She cannot help but whisper "Wow..." while blushing and staring at him as he disappears into the distance.

"You should talk to him," Kanon suggests.

"No way!"

"Why not?"

"I-I can't do it. Whenever I see him my brain turns to mush. What if I say something stupid?" Anon sputters.

"You should try! I hear he is totally single these days," Tei encourages.

Anon looks down and blushes, "maybe..."

"You might even walk away with his phone number."

Anon's face turns an even deeper shade of scarlet and Tei giggles.

"Don't you have a class with him?" Kanon inquires.

"Yeah, my Japanese class. It's on Monday's and Thursday's at 11:00am-11:50am."

Tei's eyes widen, "That's in around 50 minutes! Are you going to talk to him??"

"Probably not..." Anon murmurs.

"You can do it; I believe in you," Kanon encourages, smiling at her.

Anon's lips curve into a small smile as she blushes thinking about having the confidence to talk to Kaito.

She thinks about how handsome he is, his shaggy blue hair, the way he smiles when he laughs, his gorgeous eyes and face.

Anon ponders if he could ever like her.

"Kanon seems to think he could like me, and she has always given me good advice....."

"But...... Kaito always has women throwing themselves at him. How would I be different?" the quiet sibling thinks to herself, frowning and furrowing her brow.

Kanon looks over at Anon and notices her daydreaming.

"Uh, sis? You good?"

Anon snaps out of her daydream and replies, "Oh! Yes, I'm fine, I just spaced out".

"You spaced out for a good 10 minutes" giggles Tei.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Anon apologizes while laughing.

"Anyway," Kanon chuckles, "Have you guys seen that video on YouTube of a white kitten that loves bath time?"

"Oh! The one where the kitten meowed unhappily when she was taken out then climbed back in the bath?" Anon asks giggling.

"Yeah! That one."

"I haven't seen it!" Tei replies surprised.

"You HAVE to see it!"

She takes out her phone, puts in the passcode and opens YouTube. She searches for "cat loves water" and it is the 3rd video that pops up. After tapping on it, the video starts to play.

The video shows a tiny white kitten enjoying her bath. She was not pleased when her owner lifted her out of the tub.

"Oh my gosh, that's so cute, she just wants to be in the nice warm bath," Tei giggles uncontrollably.

"Right???? It's so adorable!" Kanon squeals while laughing.

The three continue to watch cat videos on YouTube until it's time for Anon and Tei to start walking to their next classes.

Anon turns her phone's screen on to check the time and notices it's 10:56.

"Shit it's 10:56, we gotta head to class." Anon grumbles as her and Tei stand up from the bench.

"Where do you want to meet up later?" Tei asks Kanon.

"Wait for me at the bench by my English class."

"Alright, we'll be there, bye! I'll see you later!"

"Later sis!" Anon says as she and Tei hurry off to class.

"Later!!" Kanon calls out as she pulls out her English textbook and opens it to reveal her homework. She grabs a pencil from her bag and starts writing her name and today's date on the paper.

Meanwhile, Anon and Tei are rushing to their classes.

"We should've started walking earlier," Anon says exasperated.

"I know I know," Tei mumbles as the two quickly approach where they must split off.

They briefly say goodbye to each other and go their separate paths.

Anon quickly takes out her phone to check the time.

"10:58, I'm going to make it" she thinks as she puts her phone away and slows down her pace. She turns a corner and her next class comes into view. Anon passes a few blooming cherry trees, the petals are strewn across the stone path, adding color to the plain pebbles. She walks up to the door, turns the handle and steps inside with about a minute to spare. Anon lets out a breath of relief , makes her way over to her desk and sits down.

She unzips her schoolbag, pulls out her school supplies, places them on her desk and looks up. A blush spread across her face as her eyes focused on the attractive blue-haired man across the room from her. Anon quickly looks away as her face reddens further. Kaito is talking to his friends and laughing, smiling that charming smile Anon loves so much. She rests her head on her hand and gazes at him.

_"He's so handsome.."_

Anon thinks to herself, she wonders why her friends want her to even try to talk to him. She frowns a little bit as she contemplates the chance that Kaito could ever like her.

_"I'm a nobody, there's no way he could ever have feelings for me"_


	2. Endless Embarrassment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lol just read it

Anon sighs in defeat as she buries her face in her hands. _"Why would I even- "_ her thoughts are interrupted by the professor's voice. She jolts her head upwards in surprise, embarrassed, she listens to the lecture. A yawn escapes her lips as she covers her mouth in politeness. The lesson is dull as always and seemed like it would never end. After what seemed like an eternity, the class is dismissed. Anon rises from her seat, picks up her school bag and begins to walk to the door. Her heart skips a beat as she passes Kaito. She considers turning around and speaking to him but decides against it. _"He wouldn't want to talk to me; I shouldn't bother him,"_ Anon thinks to herself as she continues walking toward the meeting point. "Hey! Excuse me, miss? You dropped this!" an unmistakable voice calls out from behind her. She around in surprise and is met with Kaito's gentle gaze. He flashes a smile and holds out a notebook to her. "Oh!" Anon exclaims as she reaches for the book and takes it. "Th-thank you," she stammers, struggling to look at him. "You're welcome, see you on Thursday!" He replies grinning, before waving goodbye and walking off with his friends. "S-see you!" She stands there frozen for a moment, grasping the baby blue notebook in her shaky hands. "Does this mean... he'll talk to me again??" She wonders, blushing a deeper shade of crimson. Anon slips her backpack off one arm and notices her it is open. _"Whoops, well that explains how it fell out."_ She sheepishly slides the book in her bag, zips it up, puts the loose backpack strap over her unoccupied shoulder and starts toward her destination. A million thoughts are racing through her mind as she walks the campus grounds. _"...should I have said more to him?"_ she wonders, reflecting to her encounter with Kaito. A blush spreads across Anon's face as his charming smile pops into her mind. Her heart swells with both happiness and uncertainty. "I'm so happy but... I'm nervous..." she thinks to herself, looking down and turning a corner. "Hey! There you are!" a soft voice rings out giddily. She lifts her head to see Tei, who was patiently waiting for her at the bench outside of Kanon's class. Anon waves meekly as she walks over, still flustered from earlier. As she moves closer, Tei's face changes. "Are you okay? Did you talk to Kaito-san?????" Tei questions, her expression showing a mixture of excitement and concern. "Kind of, he talked to me. I dropped something, he picked it up, handed it it me and said he would see me on Thursday, that's it," Anon mumbles as she sets her bag down on the table and sits. "You said something back right??" Anon nods her head in response, slightly confused. "Then you talked to him!!! That's a start!" Tei giggles cheerfully. Anon smiles sheepishly and laughs alongside her. "So, how was class?" she inquires. "It was alright... boring if anything." "What do you want to do later?" Anon asks. "I don't know, let's talk about that when Kanon gets out of class." As the two talk, Kaito and his friends are walking to the parking lot, talking along the way. ——————————————————————— "You're kidding me." Kaito snickers. "That's why he didn't show up today, because that Einstein broke his arm," "I'm not surprised, doing something that stupid wasn't going to end well" Kaito replies laughing heartily, almost doubling over. "Wait, I missed that. What happened to Aya???" someone else in the group questions, surprised. "So, he thought it would be a great idea to ask his brother to drive with him attached to the outside of the car on his skateboard. Of course, he agreed and started driving with Aya holding on. Aya then had the genius idea to let go and see if he could balance on his own. Naturally, he ate shit and broke his arm." Yoshiro recants, facepalming. "PFFFFFT, nice" the questioner laughs while wiping a tear from his eye. "His brother feels so bad," the storyteller adds, sighing. "As he should!" Kaito snorts. He stops laughing for a moment, looking behind him then asks, "who was that girl back there? She looked familiar.." "Oh, Anon-san? The one you picked the notebook up for?" one of his friends asks, looking over. Kaito nods. "She's a dead vocaloid, she and her twin came into a minor spotlight for about 5 seconds and no one has looked at them since," Yoshiro explains, his hazel eyes glancing from his classmate to the path in front of them. "Huh... I wonder what she's like." "Who knows, she only seems to talk to her sister and that weird girl with the impossibly long silver hair," the brown-eyed pupil remarks, his blond hair frizzing slightly due to the humid weather. "Do you mean Sukone Tei? It's not nice to call people you don't know weird," Kaito chuckles. "I mean, she came out as a Yandere character..." another schoolmate chimes in. "That doesn't necessarily mean she is off-stage, none of us know her personally," Kaito points out. ".... true," Yoshiro concedes, somewhat flustered as the others exchange looks. There is a short silence before Kaito's white Lexus LC500 comes into view. "I'll catch you guys later!" he says and waves goodbye. The group bids him farewell as he unlocks his car, opens the door and climbs inside. Kaito shuts the door, inserts the key in the engine, turns it on and drives off. ——————————————————————— An hour later, Kanon's class period ends, and she goes to meet her friends. Kanon opens the classroom door and sees Tei and Anon for her. "Hey guys!!" She chirps happily, waving. "Hey sis!" Anon replies with a shy smile as Tei waves hello. "Are you guys ready to go?" Kanon asks. "Can we stop by the cafeteria first? I'm a little hungry," Tei inquires. "Sounds good, I was thinking about getting a bite to eat myself." The three stand up from the bench and head to the lunchroom. "Anon, you seem more distracted than usual, did you talk to Kaito-san??" Kanon questions. "Kind of," Anon mumbles, looking down. "Stop saying 'kind of' you totally did!" Tei encourages. "Tell. Me. Everything." Kanon implores, her emerald eyes widening in surprise. "There's not really much to tell, my notebook fell out of my backpack, he picked it up and gave it to me. That's it, nothing else happened." "Annnnnnnnnd?" Tei prods with a huge grin. "H-he told me he'd see me on Thursday" Anon stutters. Kanon squeals in excitement and hugs her, "I knew you could do it!" Shortly after, the trio arrives at the cafeteria entrance and they head inside. The menu is in tiny, difficult to read print, but the letters are still legible. There is a small, disorderly stack of paper on a wooden table within hand's reach. On these forms are the meals available and their prices, boxes line the pages next to each item. The three each grab an order slip and fill them out. They check the boxes next to the food they want, write their names and continue to wait until it's their turn in line. Since the line wasn't long, they were able to put in their orders quickly and go wait at a nearby table. "What do you guys want to do later?" Tei inquires. "Honestly, I'm not sure, maybe reality tv and some vocal practice?" Anon suggests. "We should watch 'slippery stairs'," Kanon recommends, smiling. "Ha! You've been obsessed with that show for months now, it's so dumb," Anon remarks. "It may be trash, but it's my trash damnit!" "Fine... I'm down to watch A FEW episodes, only a few, you hear me?" Anon says trying to sound playfully stern but instead breaks into a fit of giggles. "Isn't it one of those stupid game shows?" Tei questions. "Shhhhhh, it's magical," Kanon assures. Anon rolls her eyes and grins. "Sukone Tei!" the cook calls out, beckoning her over. A few eyes lock on to her, she ignores them, stands, and goes to retrieve her food from the counter. By the time Tei was halfway to the front of the room, Anon's name is called as well as Kanon's. The trio grab their food and make their way back to their table. "Erm, can we move somewhere else? People are looking at me," Tei asks, looking down in embarrassment. Anon and Kanon look around the cafeteria to see more people staring and whispering. "Yeah, let's go," Kanon responds, frustrated that people won't stop gossiping about her best friend. The group stand up from their seats grabbing their food, quickly leaving the cafeteria in search of somewhere more private. "Ugh, next time I'm using a fake name. I wish people would treat me like a normal person," Tei grumbles. "A fake name is a good idea, but you shouldn't have to," Anon "People need to grow the hell up," Kanon snaps. "Please calm down sis." "NO, I will NOT calm down. These assholes won't stop fucking staring at my best friend and talking about her. I'M DONE. The next person to look at her even a LITTLE wrong is going to get punched." "It's alright... please don't attack anyone. I know you're angry, but I don't want you to get hurt or go to jail," Tei pleads, nervously pulling at her fingers. "It's not alright!" Kanon protests. "I just don't know how to stop this," she continues, hanging her head in sadness. "You can't, people will be people... I can cope, it'll be okay," Tei assures. Kanon breathes a deep sigh as they find a quiet spot with a few chairs and sit down. Tei unwraps her sandwich and begins to wolf it down. "Woah there, try not to choke!" Anon comments, a little concerned. "I just want to get out of here," Tei mumbles. The twins nod in understanding and start to eat faster. They hastily finish their food and start to make their way to their cars. Tei looks around nervously as they walk, wanting to disappear. She tries to hide behind Anon, but to no avail for she is much taller than Anon. Thankfully, there aren't many other students in the parking lot, so very few people notice her. After walking in silence for a couple minutes, a crimson car comes into view. "I'll see you guys at your house!" Tei blurts out. Before her friends could say anything, she rushes over to her red Toyota Prius and drives away. The sisters sigh, feeling horrible for their classmate. "I feel so helpless... I wish there were something we could do..." Kanon broods, but then her face lights up. "What if we told everyone she's just a normal girl?" She asks with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Nothing good, that will likely only cause more problems for her. No one would believe us anyways," Anon points out. Kanon frowns and looks at the ground. "You're right..." she concedes sadly, looking back up at Anon. "All we can do is be there for her."


	3. Being Positive

Tei drives into a different parking lot five minutes away, parks her car and begins to sob. _"Why....why???"_ She thinks to herself as she leans on the steering wheel in despair. Gripping it so hard her knuckles start to turn white. _"This is all my fault.... I never should've signed that vipper contract, it was the biggest mistake of my life."_ Tei continues to sit in her car and cry, sniffling bitterly. She reaches into her purse and shakily grasps a pill bottle. "Anti-anxiety, take 2 tablets by mouth when experiencing symptoms," was printed on the label along with her name. Tei unscrews the top of the orange pill bottle, takes off the lid and shakes out 2 pills into her hand. She snatches the water bottle out of the cup holder beside her, opens it, and hastily gulps down the pills with the aid of liquid. After waiting for the medication to kick in, she catches ahold of herself, pulls down the sun visor and opens the mirror. Her face is bright red and tears are rolling down her cheeks. Sighing, she opens the glove compartment and reaches for a packet of tissues, picking them up and closing the glovebox. She dries her eyes, puts down the tear-stained tissue in her lap, grasps another and pulls it out. Grabbing the water bottle that she had previously took her pills with, Tei wets the kleenex. She cleans her face as best as she could before drying it with a clean tissue. She takes the now-dirty tissues and tosses them in the cloth, portable trash bin in her car. Tei takes another look at her reflection, she is noticeably calmer but the crimson in her face hasn't faded completely. Sighing, she decides to stay in the parking lot until her skin is once again a pale white. ————————————————————— Soon after, Kanon's 2014 silver Nissan Versa pulls into the driveway of the siblings' house. Kanon puts her car in park and pulls up the emergency brake. She then shuts off the vehicle, and takes the key out of the engine. The twins take off their seatbelts and exit the car, to their confusion, Tei is not there. "..Huh? She left before us; she should be here." Anon comments, nervously twisting her bracelets. "I'm sure she'll be here in a few minutes." Kanon assures, locking her car and shoving her keys in her pocket. A few minutes turned into 10, which turned into 15. Their confusion quickly morphs into worry. "Should we go look for her??? It's been awhile," Anon suggests, with a hint of panic in her eyes. Just then, a red Prius pulls up next to the house, the two sigh in relief. The vehicle comes to a stop, the door opens and Tei steps out. She closes the door, locks the car and walks over to her friends. "Sorry I took awhile, I- I needed a moment." "It's alright, we were just worried, let's go in," Kanon replies, motioning in the direction of the front door. Tei nods and they walk to the entrance. Once there, the Kanon reaches into her pocket and pulls out her copy of the house key. She inserts it in the door, unlocks and opens it. With a bit of a struggle, the key is yanked back out of the doorknob. "Ugh, damn thing, we need to hire a locksmith," Kanon groans. The three walk inside, Anon closing the door behind them. Kanon throws her keys on the table by the door, walks over to the cushy orange couch and plops down. It is a simple house with little to no decoration. The walls are painted in light shades of yellow and orange, and white furniture is tactically placed around the home. In front of the orange couch in the living room is a white, low coffee table. The table has a couple tv remotes, an Xbox controller and a few coasters scattered across it. Kanon takes off her converse and socks, flings them across the room and puts her feet down on the plush, pale yellow carpet below her. "Really? This is why our house keeps getting messy," Anon scolds, shooting her a disapproving look. "I was going to pick them up later." "Uh, yeah like tomorrow." Tei giggles at this, "yeah, pick up your shoes and socks Kanon," she teases. "Yes mother," Kanon laughs and stands up to put away the things she threw. She picks up the discarded items and brings them to her room with her. Tei slips off her shoes and socks and leaves them by the door before walking into the living room and sitting down on the sofa. "I'll be right back, unlike some people, I'm not going to throw my shoes across the room," Anon remarks. "HEY, I HEARD THAT!" Kanon shouts from the other side of the house. "I know you did!!" Anon yells back and starts to walk to her room. "Psh," Tei giggles in response to her friends' antics. _"At least I'm feeling a little better."_ She picks up a remote and turns on the TV. It's a medium sized screen and sits on a small, white television stand. As she flips through the channels, the twins come back out of their rooms and sit on the couch with her. "Didn't you want to watch a game show or something?" Tei asks. "YES, I mean, yes I did," Kanon exclaims as she snatches the remote held out to her. Anon snorts, "she loves this show so much, I can always hear it playing when I'm in the other room." "It's not that often! Also, it's a good show," Kanon defends as she clicks on recordings and scrolls until she sees what she's looking for. "You'll see," Anon remarks knowingly. "Should I be worried?" "Guys, come on!" Kanon giggles, "I'm about to play it!" She clicks on an episode she has not seen yet, and it starts to buffer. As it plays, the program introduces 6 people in colorful skin-tight bodysuits to the live audience. Tei notices the participants are also wearing elbow-pads, kneepads and helmets. "What in the world will they be doing?" she wonders, stifling a chuckle. The contestants are then led to a three-story white staircase covered in slime. At the top of the staircase are two giant pastel colored faucets, one blue and the other pink. "What??? Is this the entire show?" Tei questions, tilting her head. "Maybe..." laughs Kanon. "Yeah, it is," Anon answers grinning in amusement. "I didn't expect the title to be that literal to be honest." The three giggle and continue to watch the 6 contestants fail to climb up the steps, falling and taking down others with them. After watching a few episodes, the trio are done watching "Slippery Stairs" and shut off the TV. As the television shutting off, Tei notices the paint on her nails are starting to peel off. "Damn it! I chipped my nail polish, when did that happen???" Tei groans, holding out her hands. "Aww, we should paint each other's nails! I've been needing to re-do mine anyway," Kanon suggests. "Sure!" Tei chimes happily. Anon examines her hands, "Mine could use a re-paint too, I'm down." "Cool! I'll grab my nail polish, some cotton balls and nail polish remover," Kanon replies cheerfully and walks to her room. "Which color are you going to pick?" Anon asks. "I'm thinking a deeper red this time," Tei answers. "Kanon has a really cute dark scarlet polish, that might work." "Oh wow, that sounds great. What are you going to choose?" "Probably orange again, but I might go for a lighter hue than usual," Anon replies. "I'm back!" Kanon chimes in, coming out of her room with a large, white wooden basket. It is filled to the brim with assorted colors and brands of nail polish as well as some cotton balls and nail polish remover. She walks over to the couch and plops down, putting the basket on the coffee table. "I keep forgetting how much nail polish you have!" Tei marvels, lifting a hand to her mouth. "Yeah, I'm a bit of a collector." "We should clear off the coffee table and put some newspaper down," Anon suggests. "Good idea," Kanon agrees, standing back up and heading toward the kitchen. The kitchen is connected to the living room, so it is not too far away. It's a small room with counters, stove, dishwasher, refrigerator and table taking up most of it. The walls are painted in a pale yellow while the cabinets and appliances are porcelain white. Kanon passes the threshold of the kitchen and walks toward the round, wooden table. She picks up a paper grocery bag filled with newspaper resting on a chair and brings it back to the living room. By the time she got back, Anon and Tei had already cleared off the coffee table in preparation. Kanon walks over to the table, kneels and covers it in newspaper. Anon lifts the large basket she had temporarily put aside and places it back on the coffee table. The basket has a surprising amount of weight to it and connects to the table with a small thud. "I can paint your nails! Who wants to go first??" Kanon says excitedly. Kanon is quite skilled at painting nails, hers are always perfect. She's considering going to cosmetology school if her singing career doesn't work out. "I guess I will," Tei responds. "Alright! What color?" "Anon was telling me about a deep scarlet color that you have, that sounds good." "Which one?" Kanon giggles as she digs around in the basket for all her dark red polish. "Oh yeah, there's multiple," Anon laughs. "Woah.." "Sis! Do you really need that much polish??" "I don't tell you how to live your life!" Kanon giggles again as she places all her dark red nail polish on the table. She reaches into the basket and pulls out base coat, top coat, and other supplies as Tei chooses a shade. Tei chooses her favorite and puts the others back. The three chat mainly about school and homework while Kanon paints her best friend's nails. As Anon waits for her turn, she looks for a color she wants. "By the way, how much homework did you get done?" Anon asks. "I managed to get it all done," beams Kanon proudly. "Nice!" Kanon applies the top coat to Tei's nails and twists the polish bottle shut. "Done! They should dry in about 15 minutes." "Thank you! They're lovely!" "You're welcome! Sis, have you chosen a shade yet?" Kanon asks. "Not yet, I'm stuck between these, which one should I pick?" Anon asks as she holds up the two colors she picked out. "I don't know, which one do you think Kaito-san would like better?" Teases Kanon. Anon turns 5 shades of red, "hey!" she whines. Kanon giggles, finally getting back at Anon for teasing her about throwing her shoes. "I'm kidding! I like the lighter shade better." "Gimmie your hand so I can remove the old nail polish," she continues. "Weren't Kaito-san and Hatsune-san a couple at some point??" Anon blurts out, placing her hand on the table. "I don't think so... they're just in a lot of songs together," Tei responds. "If they were, they never made it public," she continues. "Hmmmm," Anon vocalizes, pondering what her friend said. "Didn't he date Meiko-san?" She questions further, her face flushing red as she speaks. "Yeah, but they broke up around a year ago," Kanon answers, wiping away the old polish with nail polish remover and a cotton ball. "How am I supposed to compete with girls like that?" Anon frets, her lips curving into a frown. "Kaito-san is kind and non-judgmental from what I've heard. I sincerely doubt he cares about popularity," Kanon assures. "You should go for it!" Tei encourages. "W-well he did say he would see me on Thursday, maybe I can try to be his friend first," Anon stutters. "That's the spirit!" Kanon beams, as she applies the base coat on the quiet vocaloid's nails. "Yay! KAITO AND ANON SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" Tei jokes excitedly, almost yelling. "Stop that!" Anon giggles, trying not to move her hands to not ruin her partially done nails. The three laugh and continue to chat about Kaito as Kanon finishes Anon's nails and begins to paint her own. Kanon chooses a light orange like her sister, but a shade or two darker. The twins have always been alike but have distinct differences. While they share a love for bread and dancing, Kanon is more energetic and outgoing while Anon is shy and soft-spoken. As she paints her nails, the trio decide to play some music. "Mothy?" Anon asks. "You know it! Play 'Servant of Evil!'" requests Kanon. "I wish we could cover this one day sis, in a real studio, with you as Riliane," she continues. "That would be amazing, and if we did a music video it would work really well because we're identical twins." Anon marvels. "Exactly, in our version maybe nobody would find out about mix up until it was too late." "That's a really good idea!" gushes Tei. "I'm afraid it will never happen," Kanon mumbles, feeling deflated. "I'm sorry, maybe we'll find a way," comforts Anon. "You don't know that it won't happen, hold your head up high and keep working hard, I'm sure you guys will make it," Tei encourages warmly. "I would hug you, but your nails are drying," she giggles. "That's okay," Kanon laughs along with her. "You guys are right; I should be more positive. Things could be worse, at least we have our own voice banks," she continues, her bright smile returning to her face. "Also sis, it's not like we don't have fans. We don't have many, but the ones we have are devoted." "That's true, we even have our own mmd models," Kanon beams proudly. "We have some really pretty fan-made mmds, it's sweet that our fans think so highly of us," Anon marvels. "See? It'll be okay!" Tei grins. "We have to be positive!"


	4. Campus Crush

"Shuu!" Kanon calls out to the large man by the classroom door and walks over to him.

"How's my favorite tangerine doing," he asks grinning.

"You ass, I hate that name," she giggles, straightening out her knee-length yellow-orange dress.

The duo has been friends since childhood and give each other hell for laughs.

"Takes one to know one," Shuu jokingly remarks.

"What?? I can hardly hear you all the way up there."

He kneels down to Kanon's exact eye level, "what about now?"

"Hey! I'm the normal one! It's not my fault that you're a giant," Kanon giggles, reaching over and rustling his short crimson hair.

Shuu laughs and stands back upright.

"Last time I checked you were a couple inches under national average."

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Whatever."

He opens the door for her, and they walk in the classroom over to their desks.

Shuu sits down at his desk with difficulty but manages to slide himself in the comparably small desk. He feels the pressure of the cool metal of the desk digging into his legs.

He's more wearing the desk than actually sitting in it. Something that had always been amusing to Kanon.

"Did you do anything fun lately?" He asks, pushing up his glasses that had fallen part way down his nose.

"I finally got Tei to watch Slippery Stairs with me yesterday," Kanon giggles.

"I'll never understand your obsession with that show," Shuu chuckles, shaking his head.

"Good afternoon class, I hope you've all slept well," the teacher announces.

An audible groan is heard from the back of the class from another pupil. This makes other students laugh quietly.

"I honestly didn't get much sleep either," chuckles Ms. Otsuka.

"Let's get into the lesson everyone, please open your textbooks to page 321. We will be going over chapter 7 today."

Shuu and Kanon flip to the required page and prepare for their English lesson.

The class passed quickly, the teacher thoroughly and tacitly explained as much of the chapter as she could within the period.

————————————————

"See you later, have fun in class" Kanon teases.

Shuu snorts, "Later, see you on Monday!"

Kanon smiles, walks to a nearby bench and grabs a textbook out of her bag. She opens it and begins to study.

She always found waiting around for her next class boring, but she was grateful for an environment with few distractions to work in.

—————————————————————

Meanwhile, Shuu is on his way to his Japanese course.

_"Kanon, that dork,"_ he thinks to himself chuckling.

He walks the campus grounds until he arrives at the classroom. It is a small brick building with red potted tulips lined against the wall. He reaches out his hand, slides the door open, and enters the classroom.

_"Another day, another miniature desk."_

Shuu makes his way over to his seat, and slowly squeezes in. It's extremely uncomfortable but bearable for one hour.

He notices Tei walk in; she's portrayed as a yandere in most of her work. A lot of people think that's who she is, but Shuu never thought that. She's Kanon's best friend and he trusts her judgement.

_"I wonder what she's like,"_ he wonders, leaning his cheek onto his hand.

During the lesson, Shuu catches sight of a few people repeatedly glancing at her and giving her weird looks

_"...Seriously? I wasn't aware this was high school,"_ he thinks to himself, disappointed in his classmates and observing that she's uncomfortable and obviously noticing the unwanted attention.

He feels bad for her. He wonders why some people in college can be so immature.

When the class period ended, he grabs his backpack and walks out annoyed.

_"Poor girl,"_ Shuu thinks to himself. _"She doesn't deserve any of that."_

At the same time, Kanon packs up her school supplies and zips her backpack shut. Sitting up, she throws her bag over her shoulder and makes her way to the building her next period is in.

Arriving at the classroom, she notices a stranger doing paperwork in a desk at the front of the room.

_"Huh? Who's that?"_ She wonders as she watches the man diligently working on his task.

He is dressed professionally and has short, neat, brown hair. The man takes a look at the clock behind him allowing Kanon to get a proper look at him. He's handsome, young, wears a pair of glasses and has stunning grey eyes.

Kanon feels her cheeks heat up and puts her head down on her desk so no one can see.

_"He's so attractive...."_ she thinks to herself, admiring the stranger while simultaneously trying to keep her face hidden.

The professor's voice rings out and Kanon shoots her face up in surprise.

"Good afternoon students, before we get into today's lesson I would like to introduce Hiyama-san. He's my new assistant and will be helping me grade papers throughout the year. He'll also answer questions after class if I am busy," Mr. Takagi announces.

"He's free after class huh?" Kanon smiles thinking to herself, sinking back into her own thoughts. She daydreams for the rest of the period, completely missing the lecture.

Kanon gets up to leave when she hears the teacher call out to her, "Kanon-san, please stay after class, I would like to talk to you". She gulps nervously and walks to the front of the room.

"I've noticed you drifting off and it's causing you to suffer in my course."

"I'm sorry Mr. Takagi, I'll do better."

"I've spoken to my assistant and he is willing to tutor you. Would that be something you're interested in?"

"Yes sir," Kanon mumbles, hanging her head.

"Excellent, he's over there, he'll give you his contact information and schedule a session with you," motioning toward his aid.

Her heart bubbles with excitement and uncertainty, she approaches the handsome stranger.

"Excuse me but, you said you would tutor me?" She asks, feeling shy.

"Yes, Kanon-san right?" Kiyoteru confirms.

She nods.

He grabs a piece of paper, writes down his phone number and hands it to her.

"Here's my number, text me later and we can arrange a time to meet up."

"Thank you Hiyama-sama," Kanon murmurs bashfully.

"Please, call me Hiyama-san," he replies, smiling.

They notice a few pupils coming up to his desk for help.

"Ah yes, I must attend to my duties at the moment. I'll speak with you later, it was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too," Kanon replies, trying to stop herself from turning crimson.

She turns around, passing the rows of desks and exits the room.

_"What just happened? One moment there's a cute new guy and now he's going to be my tutor??"_ she thinks to herself, blushing.

She examines the piece of paper with Kiyoteru's phone number on it.

_"Such neat handwriting,"_ Kanon thinks to herself, giggling a bit.

She neatly folds up the piece of paper, places it in her pocket and goes to meet Anon.

She daydreams about her new crush all the way to the meeting point, being so distracted she nearly walks into a few things.

"Hey sis! Ready to go home?" Anon greets cheerfully.

"Yeah let's go," Kanon replies, scratching the back her neck sheepishly.

"Woah, you good? You're not usually this quiet." Anon asks as they walk to her car.

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem a bit distracted... and red."

"There's a new cute guy in class," Kanon murmurs, blushing harder.

"Ohmygosh, what is he like??"

"His name is Hiyama Kiyoteru and he is the professor's aid, he helps with grading and takes questions after class. He seems like a very proper man; he speaks very formally. His handwriting is so neat, it's some of the nicest handwriting I've ever seen."

"Are you going to talk to him??" Anon questions.

"Well uh.. that's kind of been taken care of for me," Kanon mumbles, somewhat embarrassed.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know how I average a D in Japanese?"

Anon nods.

"Well, Mr. Takagi offered to have Hiyama-san tutor me. So, I was directed to him and he gave me his number. I'm going to text him later to arrange a meeting."

"Oh my gosh, yesssssss."

"Don't get too excited, he might never crush on me back," Kanon forces a laugh.

"You're one of the most lovable people I've ever known, I'll keep my hopes up," Anon giggles.

"Psh, your funeral."

"I'm kind of glad I re-painted my nails yesterday, though I doubt he noticed," Kanon mumbles.

"I'm sure in time he'll notice how nice your nails are and how cute you are!"

"Easy for you to say, we're identical twins!"

The girls giggle.

Soon after, they approach Anon's car, the driver unlocks the doors and the two go inside.

Anon turns her car on and starts to back up out of her parking space.

As they begin to drive off they start chatting again.

"When are you going to text Hiyama-san?"

"I don't know, he's probably busy right now, I should wait at least 20 minutes, so shortly after we get home."

Anon nods in approval as she stops at a red light, "that's reasonable."

Anon pulls up to their house and parks. The two get out of the car, close the doors behind them, and walk to the front door. Kanon retrieves her house key from her pocket, unlocks the door and they head inside.

"I gotta go do some homework, I'll be in my room."

"Okay."

Kanon walks through the hallway and opens the door to her bedroom. She's greeted with the familiar bright orange paint on her walls, making the room look vibrant. It's not a large room, but big enough to be comfortable. She steps into her room and shuts the door. She tosses her socks and shoes in her closet, brings her schoolbag to her bed and sits down.

Her bed is soft and has a bright orange comforter on it with a fuzzy yellow blanket underneath and two pillows with white cases on top.

She unzips her bag and pulls out some school supplies. She opens a folder, and retrieves her English homework, and sets it down on her textbook.

Suddenly, Kanon's phone buzzes in her pocket, she reaches in and looks at the screen. It's Sukone Tei.

Tei: Heyy, What's up?

Kanon: About to do homework but I have to text someone first

Oh cool, who is it?

His name is Hiyama-san, he's my professor's new aid since I average a D in my Japanese class the teacher suggested he tutor me, I accepted so I'm going to text him soon and arrange a meeting, honestly he's really cute he has the most gorgeous grey eyes

Oh shit Kanon's fallen in love

Hey! It's just a small crush at most

I'm sure it is 😂

What are you up to?

I'm going to do homework shortly too I should probably start lol

Starrrrt

Okay later 😂

Bye lol

Kanon reaches into her pocket and pulls out Kiyoteru's phone number. She presses on the text icon on her phone, taps "new message" and types in Kiyoteru's number.

"Here goes nothing."

Kanon: Hiyama-san? It's Kanon-san

She puts down her phone expecting it to be a while before he got back to her, but she got a response within a few minutes.

Kiyoteru: Hello Kanon-san, how are you?

Kanon's heart starts to beat faster as she looks down at the message.

Kanon: I'm doing pretty good, how about you?

Kiyoteru: I am doing alright, just a bit busy grading papers. What days are you available? I'm free on the weekends and I have class on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but I still have a bit of time those days.

I'm free on the weekends and on Thursdays but I can also do Mondays and Wednesdays

How do Saturdays sound?

Sounds good, what time?

Would 2:00pm be suitable?

That works with me

Excellent, since campus is closed on weekends, where do you want to study?

One of the libraries in town will do, maybe the one by campus?

Alright, I'll see you then.

Later!

Kanon turns off her phone screen and holds it to her chest.

_"I'm seeing him on Saturday."_


	5. Better Than Expected

"HEY WAKE UP! YOUR WEDDING WITH KAITO-SAN IS TODAY!" a voice screeches.

Anon's eyes shoot open, turns her head and notices her sister smirking in the doorway.

"HEY! What? It's Thursday already?" she asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Uh yeah! Get outta bed before I douse you with water," Kanon teases.

"Fine, fine, close my door you dork."

Kanon can be heard laughing hysterically as she shuts the door, very much pleased with herself.

Anon sighs and looks at the clock.

_"10:15am.... it's not even that late-! Really sis??"_

She sits up and swings her feet over the bed, resting them on the plush yellow carpet. Her room is similar to her sibling's, one of the differences being that her furniture is white instead of orange.

Anon stands up, walks over to her dresser and opens a drawer. She picks out a cute white, cold shoulder top, a nearly knee-length sky blue skirt and a pair of long white socks that cover her calves.

She puts on the outfit and ties a knot at the hem of her shirt. Anon throws on a few white beaded bracelets, picks up a pair of light blue loafers, her phone and bag. She leaves the room and walks down the hallway, waving at Kanon on the way and places her shoes by the front door.

The twins have slippers inside but never bother to use them, preferring to go barefoot or in socks instead. Tei finds this strange but is never bothered when she comes over.

Kanon waves back smiling, "good morning, how'd you sleep?"

"Well until you came along," says Anon, placing a hand on her hip playfully.

"I couldn't let you sleep in!"

The girls giggle.

"Good luck today, I'm going back to bed," Kanon says as she places her dirty dish in the sink.

"Thanks!"

While Kanon makes her way back to her room, Anon is in the kitchen grabbing a bowl for her breakfast: cereal. Soon after, she begins eating.

Halfway through her meal she checks the time; only 10 minutes have passed, thus she doesn't feel the need to rush.

After she finishes, she puts the dishes in the sink. She grabs her phone, bag, and keys before exiting the kitchen, passing through the living room, slipping on her shoes and leaving the house.

She makes her way to her car and climbs in. As she pulls out of the driveway, she thinks of Kaito.

_"I hope he doesn't think I'm weird, and I hope I don't show up too early. I don't want to seem too eager; I'm just trying to be his friend for now. Ugh, why is he so cute?"_

When Anon arrives at school, she is around 10 minutes early.

_"That's not unreasonable right? Maybe I should walk around campus-"_

"Hey! Anon-san right?" Kaito's voice rings out.

Anon turns to the sudden sound and bows, "that's correct, how are you?"

"I'm alright, I'm Kaito it's nice to meet you. How are you?" bowing back.

"I'm doing good. It's nice to meet you too, I've heard some of your music, it's really good!"

"Thanks! You have a music career too if I'm not mistaken. I don't think I've heard your music; I'll have to check it out sometime."

"I do! With my sister, Kanon," Anon replies suppressing a blush.

"I thought I remembered something like that," Kaito smiles.

"I'm surprised you've heard about us, we're not very well known."

They walk to class together, talking along the way.

Once there, Kaito slides the door open for Anon. She blushes and enters the classroom with him.

Since there's little time left before the lecture, the two stand at the front of the room and continues to chat.

"Aren't you and Kanon-san identical twins?"

"Yes, we are, but you'll be able to tell the difference. She has longer hair, it helps people tell us apart."

"Oh good," Kaito laughs, I bet it would be confusing otherwise.

"Tell me about it. Growing up, we would constantly switch places at school, it would almost always work. Sometimes we were laughing too much, and the teacher would catch on." Anon giggles

"Psh, nice," Kaito chuckles.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Nah, I'm an only child. I'd imagine having a twin growing up would be fun though."

"Ha, not all the time, but we've always been close."

Anon notices students filing into the classroom looks at the clock on the wall and notices it's 10:58.

"The lecture is about to begin, we should go to our seats," Anon points out.

"Good idea."

They walk to their desks and sit down as the rest of the students enter and take their seats.

—————————————————————————

As the class is dismissed, Anon and Kaito exit the room together.

"Do you have another class today?" Kaito asks.

"Nah, I'm just heading home to do the assignment," Anon replies.

"Same here."

The two walk to the parking lot. Anon realizes she's beginning to feel calmer in his presence. He seems easier to talk to than before. She smiles to herself as they make their way to their cars.

Kaito is very talkative on the way, but Anon doesn't mind.

"This is my car, I'll see you later," she mentions, motioning to her vehicle.

"Catch you on Monday!" Kaito waves goodbye and smiles.

Anon smiles back, unlocks her car, starts it and drives away.

Upon getting home, she's almost immediately greeted by Kanon.

"Soooo, how did it go?"

"Well, he even knows who we are. He hasn't heard us sing yet, but he said he was going to sometime." Anon gushes.

"No way, that's so cool," Kanon marvels.

"We got along quite well; I even feel more comfortable around him now. When he smiles, I feel like I can relax," Anon murmurs while blushing.

"I knew it'd go great! I'm so proud of you!"

Kanon hugs Anon tightly in excitement.

"Do you have any homework or do you wanna hang out for a bit?"

"I've got homework, sorry sis. Maybe later."

Kanon playfully pouts and giggles.

"It's okay."

"I'll see you later" Anon says, turning to go to her room.

"Later" Kanon says as she plops on the orange couch, and unpausing the TV.

Anon walks to her room and goes inside. Closing the door behind her, she tosses her backpack by the foot of her bed. As she places her shoes in her closet she feels a buzz in her pocket. She grabs her phone and looks at the name on the screen, it's Tei.

Tei: Hey, how did everything go? You've been crushing on this guy foreeeeever

Anon: it went well! We got along pretty well

that's awesome, i'm happy for you

I gotta get some homework done right now but I'll text you later

Okies, ttyl

Later

Anon sets down her phone on her bed and lies down, thinking about today's events.

_"That went a lot better than I expected, he really is a good guy."_

Sitting up, Anon picks up her backpack and unzips it. She pulls out a pencil from the little pocket and her homework from the large one. She drops her bag on the floor and gets to work.

Later on, while Kanon is in the livingroom watching tv when her mind starts to drift.

_"I'm so proud of Anon, she really deserves this happiness. I hope they date eventually, they'd be a cute couple,"_ she smiles to herself.

She hears her phone on the table vibrates, it's a message from Tei.

Tei: Entertain me I'm bored

She laughs and texts back.

Kanon: do your homework, I bet you have some lmao

I don't actually

That's a first lol

What are you up to?

Watching TV, wbu

Being bored asf

I noticed

Lets hang outtttt 👀

Sure lol

Want me to pick you up?

Sounds good

Alright, I'll be omw soon

Okay

Kanon sets her phone down, retrieves her shoes, puts them by the door, and continues what she was doing until Tei arrives.

Her phone lights up, she glances at the screen and sees a message.

Tei: I'm here

Kanon gets off the couch and grabs her phone.

"I'M GOING TO HANG OUT WITH TEI I'LL BE BACK LATER," she shouts across the house to Anon.

"LATER!" She hears Anon call from the other room. She takes her purse off the coat stand, grabs her keys, and leaves.

She sees Tei's car parked outside her house and walks over. Tei notices her walking over and waves, smiling. Kanon waves back, gets in the car and puts on her seatbelt.

"Hey! How are you?" Tei chimes.

"I'm doing okay, what about you?"

"I'm doing alright; what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, do you want to go for ice cream?" Kanon suggests.

"Sure, that sounds good!" Tei agrees as she puts her car in gear and begins to drive.

They're going to their favorite ice cream shop, it's family owned and the best place in town.

"So Anon was telling me about talking to Kaito-san," Tei inquires.

"Yeah she told me about that, they got along really well, and she feels more relaxed around him now. He even knew who we are as vocalists, she was really surprised about that," Kanon explains.

"Awww, good for her."

"I'm happy for her."

"Same."

They continue chatting until they arrive at the ice cream shop. 

The two step out of the car and close their doors. As they walk to the entrance, Kanon locks her car.

There were only three people in the line and since Tei and Kanon already know what they're going to order, they were able to buy their treats quickly and sit down at a nearby table.

The table they chose has chairs that are a little too high up for Kanon to sit on without going on her tiptoes. Tei giggles at the sight, being 5'6 she sits with ease as she watches her friend struggle.

"Oh hush you, it's not my fault these seats are too tall," Kanon laughs and she pushes herself up on the chair.

This just makes Tei giggle more.

"Whatever," Kanon chuckles.

"Don't you have a tutoring session with the cute new guy in your class soon?"

"Hiyama-san? Yeah I am, I'm pretty nervous, I hope he doesn't notice."

"You do pretty well with anxiety, it'll be fine. Just focus on your books for now and try to marry him later."

"Hey!" Kanon whines before taking a bite of her ice cream.

The two continue to chat as they eat. Kanon notices people staring at Tei but tries to pretend like nothing is happening. She's grateful their whispering wasn't audible. Sadly though, every time she took a glance she knew they were talking about Tei.

"Why are you acting funny, what's wrong?" Tei questions, raising an eyebrow.

"The three guys behind you are whispering and staring," Kanon sighs.

Tei turns around and notices 3 people quickly turn their heads away from her.

"Let's just go," Tei murmurs, feeling dejected.

On their way out, Kanon shoots the meanest death glare she could muster at the group. Which causes the nosy customers' cheeks to flush in embarrassment.

She had already finished her ice cream but Tei threw the remains of hers in the trash. The two walk to Tei's car and climb in.

"Are you okay?" Kanon asks gently.

"Of course I am, in the moment I was annoyed but I'm used to it," she replies with false confidence.

"Okay..." Kanon replies. She knows she is upset but doesn't want to press further.

Tei drives to a secluded park and stops her car. The car ride was mostly silent.

"I like it here, it's peaceful; the only sounds you can hear are the birds," she mumbles, trying to smile.

"It is nice here," Kanon agrees awkwardly.

After hanging out for a little bit longer, Tei takes Kanon home.

——————————————————————————

"I'm back" Kanon announces as she enters the house.

"Hey," Anon greets her.

"Are you done with your homework?"

"I am."

"Nice! I'll be right back, I'm going to put away my shoes," Kanon replies.

After throwing her shoes in her closet, she plops down on the couch next to her sister.

"What were you guys up to?" Anon asks smiling.

"We went for ice cream but left when people started to stare at Tei."

Anon's smile disappears, "that's depressing but not surprising."

"We hung out at a secluded park instead. She said she was fine, but I knew she wasn't," Kanon mumbles.

"That sounds like her."

"I'll text her later to check on her."

"Good idea," Anon agrees.

"People need to grow up and mind their own business," Kanon murmurs.

"Yeah, they do."


	6. A Great Guy

Tei wakes up to the sound of her alarm. She sits up and yawns, rubbing her eyes.

_"I hate going to school, if only online classes worked for me. Then I wouldn't have to get stared at all day."_

Last year, she tried to take online classes to avoid unwanted attention. Sadly, she found herself getting distracted during lessons. It caused her to struggle with grades and she eventually failed.

She sighs and walks to her closet. The closet leans against the crimson wall, which contrasts with the white furniture.

Tei chooses black skinny jeans, a grey and white striped shirt with a black crop top to go over it. After putting on the outfit, she puts on her slippers, grabs a pair of black boots and exits her room.

After leaving her shoes at the door she goes to the kitchen for some breakfast. She grabs a meal bar and a banana then sits down at the kitchen table.

After she was done eating, she heads to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth.

Tei takes out her toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush from the drawer. She brushes her teeth while removing the hairbands from her braids she had tied the previous night. She places them on the counter and proceeds to brush her long locks. Even with the advantage of braiding her hair the night before, it was still a chore to do.

Tei pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks the time. It's only 11:00am she decides to do homework until it's time to leave.

——————————————————————-

As a last-minute decision, she grabs a black jacket, hoping the hood would conceal her identity; at least on the way to class since everyone knows where she sits.

_"Maybe today won't be so bad, hopefully most people will eventually realize I'm a normal person."_

Tei picks up her backpack, grabs her keys and leaves the house.

———————————————————————

After putting the car in park, she steps out of her vehicle and puts up her hood, hoping nobody would notice her.

It worked for the most part as she made her way to class, she kept her head down and only a few people caught a glimpse of her piercing red eyes.

Tei enters the classroom and as normal, eyes are on her. She makes a beeline to her desk and sits down.

_"Just ignore them,"_ she thinks to herself, taking off her hood since there's no use wearing it inside.

There's one guy whose eyes are fixed on her, which is strange. People will usually take glances and act like they're not staring. This guy didn't even try to hide it and whispers to the man next to him.

Tei notices this and is weirded out. He doesn't even look away when she looks at him.

_"This is almost creepy."_

She takes out her phone and tries to focus on something else. Thankfully, the professor breaks the awkward moment and he finally looks away.

"Good afternoon class, I hope you are doing well."

The teacher continues to speak as Tei drifts into her own thoughts.

_"What was that about?? I usually get some stares but that, that was something else,"_ she ponders, nervously twisting her hair.

The rest of the period is uneventful, there's a few glances but nothing too strange.

———————————————————————

Tei leaves the classroom quickly, making sure she was the first one out and walks to the parking lot.

As she makes her way to her car, she hears someone calling her.

"HEY FREAK!" the voice rings out.

Tei frowns, trying to ignore the man, she walks faster.

"HEY!" The voice shouts again as he closes the gap between them.

He walks up behind her and grabs her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Meanwhile, Shuu is walking to his car and notices the commotion.

_"Is that Sukone-san? Shit, I have to get over there!"_

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He yells, running over to the scene.

"And who the hell are you?" the aggressor snaps.

Shuu leans in close to his face, grabs the other man's shirt and growls, "I'm the one that's going to fuck your world up if you don't fuck off right now."

He towers over the man and they both know what would happen.

".... Understood."

"Good, now get out of here," Shuu says, letting go of the troublemaker's collar. The man runs off, not wanting to pick a fight with someone as large as Shuu.

"Woah... thank you," Tei marvels.

"Of course, I couldn't stand by and do nothing. Sukone Tei right?"

"That's right."

"My name is Mawarine Shuu, I think I've seen you at a couple utau events."

"Oh! I've heard of you! I expected you to be shorter to be honest," Tei mentions.

"Ha, everyone says that. Maybe it's because I'm a nerdy guy," he chuckles.

A small smile plays on Tei's face.

The two chatted a bit, enjoying each other's company.

"Here's my number, let me know if anyone gives you trouble. I got your back."

Tei smiles happily, grateful to have him to stand up for her, "thank you so much."

"Hey, that's what friends are for right?"

"Yeah!"

———————————————————————

Meanwhile, Kanon enters her Japanese class nervously, one reason being Kiyoteru was there and the main one being her test results are coming back today. She sits down with a paper and pencil ready to take notes.

She notices Kiyoteru doing paperwork and thinks to herself, _"I shouldn't try to talk to him until after class, I don't want to distract him."_

"Good afternoon students, I've graded your tests, you may collect them at the end of the period. They will be on my assistant's desk, state your name and he'll hand out your tests," the professor announces.

_"At least I'll have help for the next exam.... from a really handsome guy. Would he even date me? He is my tutor.... I shouldn't get my hopes up."_

———————————————————————————

At the end of class, Kanon walks over to Kiyoteru's desk and waits in line for her test. When he hands her the graded paper her heart sinks.

_"Great, I flunked again. I knew I didn't do well but I didn't know I'd do this bad,"_ she thinks to herself, feeing like a failure.

Kiyoteru looks up at Kanon, noticing her disappointment.

"There's always a next time, don't let it get you down. I'll help you study tomorrow," he encourages.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"I must work at the moment, but I'll see you at 2pm tomorrow. Keep that test, I want to go over it with you."

"Alright, see you then."

"Have a good day."

"You too!"

Kanon turns around and exits the room, test in hand.

_"I was going to throw this away, but if he wants me to keep it I'm sure it's important."_

She puts it in her backpack and starts to descend down the stairs.

Her Japanese class is only on the second floor so it didn't take too long to get to the bottom. She's always been grateful she didn't have any classes on the third floor.

She slides the door open and makes her way to her Anon's car, who is patiently waiting for her. Anon's class ended an hour ago but they carpool to save money on gas.

Kanon waves at the Anon as she approaches her. She waves back and unlocks the car so she can get in.

"How was class?"

"Very meh, I failed the test."

"Shit... I'm sorry sis. At least you have a cute guy to help you tomorrow."

Kanon giggles.

"Can he even go out with me? He's my tutor, that's probably against the rules or something."

"Maybe, maybe not, but for right now he's cute and helping you. Just don't jump in headfirst."

"True, I'm going to try to be his friend. He might fall for me."

"You totally have this in the bag," Anon encourages.

"I hope so," Kanon murmurs.

———————————————————————

After arriving home, the two decide to study together. They're soon interrupted by Kanon's phone chiming. She picks up her phone and reads the message.

Tei: Dude... shit hit the fan today

Kanon: What happened???

Well usually people stare but this time I was shouted at. I tried to ignore it but he stormed up to me and spun me around by my shoulder

WOW

yep, he continued to harass me and call me names until we heard shouting. Mawarine-san started running at him yelling asking him what the fuck he was doing and scared him off

Shuu is a great guy, he hates seeing people being picked on, I'll have to thank him later :)

He even gave me his number and told me to call him if anyone bothers me

That's awesome! It was about time someone else stood up for you!

Yeah :)

"That looked like a rollercoaster of emotions, what happened?" Anon asks.

"Tei texted me Shuu had protected her," Kanon answers, wide-eyed.

"Huh?? What happened??"

Kanon recaps everything that Tei told her.

"What a great guy, I'm glad she has him to stick up for her now."

"Me too, perhaps once word gets out that he has her back, Tei will be harassed less."

"Maybe, he is rather large," Anon laughs.

"He's a giant," Kanon giggles.

Meanwhile, Shuu is back home and is taking out his frustration on a punching bag. He's worked out since he was a teenager and is in good shape.

_"What was that guy's problem? Who would even grab someone by the shoulder like that?? The last time I've seen someone be that immature is when I was in high school,"_ he wonders.

_"Hopefully, he doesn't do that to anyone else."_

He hears his phone go off and takes a break to go check his notifications.

Kanon: hey thank you for protecting Tei, I really appreciate it, so does Anon

Shuu: it was nothing, basically all I had to do was grab the collar of his shirt, get in his face then he ran like his ass was on fire

LOL, he's such a coward

I doubt he'll bother her again

Probably not

I'm in the middle of working out, I'll text you later

Alright, ttyl

_"She didn't have to thank me, I was just doing the right thing,"_ Shuu thinks to himself, grabbing his water bottle and drinking from it.

_"I hate it when people try to step all over others."_

He sets down his beverage on the floor and sits on the weight bench. Shuu has a room specifically for exercise, he calls it his "gains den". The walls are white, the floor is padded, and his exercise equipment is neatly organized.

He reaches under the bench and drags out a 30-pound dumbbell. Shuu picks it up and begins his sets of bicep curls.

_"At least I hope he doesn't bother her again, they're still in the same class,"_ he thinks to himself, wiping sweat off his forehead with his free hand.

_"I didn't think anyone would actually have the nerve to grab her. It worries me, but I'm sure she'll contact me if trouble finds her."_


	7. Being Patient

"Do I look cute?"

"Yes you do Kanon, stop worrying," Anon replies.

"I'm glad my nails still look nice! They match my outfit," chimes Kanon, holding her orange nails over her clothes.

She has on a pale, yellow cold shoulder top, turquoise pants and her white tennis shoes are by the door.

"Maybe I should throw on a bracelet, but I don't know. I don't want to seem like I'm trying to look cute."

"It won't look like that at all. Which one do you have in mind?" Anon raises an eyebrow.

"I'll bring it out," says Kanon as she walks to her room to retrieve the jewelry.

She comes back out with a cute lemon slice charm bracelet.

"I forgot you had that! It completes the look without being flashy."

"You think so?? I'll wear it."

"When do you have to be there again?"

"2pm," Kanon answers, nervously pulling at herlong hair.

"It's almost 1:40, you should probably head out soon."

"I should call Tei before I leave, I need to check on her."

"Put it on speaker, I want to talk to her too."

Kanon nods as she pulls her phone out of her pocket and dials Tei's number.

The phone rings a few times then she picks up.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hiii," they greet Tei.

"I was about to head to the library but we wanted to check on you first," Kanon continues, holding the phone between her and Anon.

"I'm fine, I was shaken but I've mostly got over it. I doubt it'll happen again."

"I dont think so either, I'm glad you're doing okay," Anon says.

"It's comforting knowing that Mawarine-san has my back."

"We should all hang out as a group at some point," suggests Kanon.

"Sounds fun," Tei answers.

"Well I'm going to let you go, I'll text you later!"

"Alright! Later."

Kanon hangs up the call and puts her phone back in her pocket. Her eyes dart across the room and land on her orange backpack.

"Did I grab everything??"

"I watched you check your bag 3 times over the past 15 minutes, you did," Anon giggles, raising a hand to her lips.

"Okay," Kanon sighs.

"I haven't seen you this flustered in awhile."

"I guess I'm just nervous."

"There's no reason to be nervous, you'll do fine!"

"I have to go, I'll see you later," Kanon smiles.

"Later! Tell me how it goes."

"I will!"

Kanon exits her house, walks to her car and climbs in.

After a brief drive, she arrives at the library. As she nervously walks to the entrance, she feels her phone buzz.

Tei: good luck!

Kanon: thanks!

Kanon smiles and shoves her phone back in her pocket. As she walks through the automatic doors, the cool air from the air conditioning gently caresses her skin. She anxiously scans the room for her tutor, spotting him doing paperwork at a desk.

_"He's such a hard worker,"_ Kanon blushes.

Taking a deep breath, she makes her way to him.

"Hey Hiyama-san."

"Hello, how are you?" Kiyoteru politely greets.

"Well, yourself?" She asks, putting her bag down on the table.

"I am well, do you have the test with you?" He asks, folding his hands together.

"I do," she replies, grabbing the graded paper and setting it down.

The two look through the answers she got wrong. Kanon has difficulty focusing but tries her best to make a good impression. An hour later the session is over.

"Thank you for the help."

"Of course, I must resume grading, it was a pleasure working with you."

A little disappointed, Kanon grabs her bag and exits the library. She had hoped to make small talk but he seemed to be too busy.

"This is going to be harder than I thought."

——————————————————————————-

"Hey Anon," Kanon mumbles, closing the front door to her house.

"How'd it go?"

"It went okay, I spaced out at one point but overall it was fine. I hope I made a good impression. He was busy so I couldn't talk to him afterwards."

"Damn, well at least I'm sure he expected you to space out at least once, you shouldn't make a habit of it though," Anon points out, holding up a finger.

"I know, I know. I don't want him to dislike me."

"Maybe if your grades shoot up he'll fall in love with you."

Their eyes meet and there's a moment of silence before they both erupt into giggles.

—————————————————————————-

Later on, while working on her computer, Anon gets distracted and googles something she'd been wondering about.

_"Ah ha! I thought that's who it was."_

"Hey sis, come here," she calls.

Kanon walks in Anon's room.

"What's up?"

"Check this out," she instructs, beckoning Kanon over and showing her the laptop.

"I thought your tutor's name sounded familiar so I looked it up. It turns out he's also a vocalist with a voicebank, a successful one too."

"Woah, then I definitely dont have a chance."

"yes you do, dont be so negative. You think I have a chance with Kaito-san don't you?"

"Of course I do!!!!" Kanon exclaims confidently.

"Then you have a chance with Hiyama-san," Anon giggles, closing her laptop and setting it down.

"This is different, he won't see me that way. I couldn't even talk to him. I hope he doesn't find out I like him, that would be awkward. Damn his professionalism!!"

"Hmmm, a delicate hand is needed to progress. Your idea of getting close to him as a friend first is your best bet. I'm sure he will warm up to you eventually, you just have to be patient."

"I hope so."

—————————————————————————

"Get in the car dork, we're going to be late," Anon motions toward the passenger seat.

"I can't believe it's Monday already," Kanon whines.

"I know; have you texted Tei recently?"

"I did yesterday, she's seems to be acting normal."

"It's only been three days, I'm sure it still bothers her."

"I know," Kanon frowns, tugging open the door and climbing in the car.

"Did you study for the test?"

"Shit," Kanon frantically pulls notes out of her bag and starts to study them.

The car ride is mostly silent, with Kanon frantically trying to look over her notes before class starts.

The vehicle stops near the front of the school and they step out.

"Come on, we need to walk faster," Anon points out, quickening her pace and locking her car.

Arriving at the classroom and walking in, they immediately notice Tei sitting at her desk. Kanon and Anon walk over and sit down on both sides of her.

"Hey, how've you been doing?" Kanon asks, setting down her backpack.

"I'm still more skittish than normal, but overall I'm doing better," Tei admits, brushing her long, white hair behind her ear.

"I'm glad to hear it, we have your back whenever you need us."

"I appreciate it."

"Are you ready for the test?" Anon asks Tei.

"Yeah, what about you guys?"

"I am, she isnt."

"Yeah, I completely forgot."

"Ouch, hopefully you do well."

"Good morning class!" The chipper voice of the professor rings out.

"I hope you're doing well, please take everything off your desks besides your pencils, I'm coming around pass out the tests and answerkeys."

The bright walls of the classroom matches their professor's demeanor; always smiling and happy. She has an energizing effect on students and asking, and answering plenty of questions to keep them involved.

The trio take out their pencils and wait for their tests. Thankfully, it's one of the easier classes, so the test isn't too difficult.

—————————————————————————-

"Remember that projects are due on Wednesday the 27th, you can either turn it in in person or send it to me via email before 10pm. Have a good day everyone!"

The students gather their things and exit the room, some resuming conversation with their friends.

"Can you guys walk me to class again?" Tei asks in a somewhat meek voice.

Kanon and Anon nod, "yeah let's go."

They begin to walk along the path, chatting along the way.

"How'd you guys think you did on the test?" Tei inquires.

Kanon scratches her head in thought, "I don't know, hopefully at least a C."

"Not sure, I think I knew most of the answers, what about you?" Anon says somewhat confidently.

"I think I did okay; did you hear from Suzuki-sama yet about that gig?"

"Not yet," Kanon mumbles, a frown tugging at her lips.

"Didn't he say he would call a couple days ago?" Tei raises an eyebrow.

"Kind of, he said if not on that day within the next week," Anon sighs.

"I'm sorry guys, that sounds really irritating."

"We're used to it," Anon murmurs, troubled that nobody seems to take her and Kanon seriously.

Soon after, they stop at a brick building with yellow tulips on either side of the door and the the number "B12" in golden metal lettering besides it.

"Thank you."

"No problem, we'll see you later."

——————————————————————————

The alarm on Kanon's phone goes off, reminding her to walk to class.

She yawns, closes the book she was studying, puts it in her bag and zips it up. She stands from the bench she sat at, throws her backpack over her shoulder and walks to class. Kanon slides the classroom door open and makes her way to her desk.

_"At least I started the project this time, I should probably work on it today or tomorrow,"_ she thinks to herself, sitting down.

Kanon ponders further what she would do next when a familiar thump snaps her out of her thoughts.

"Ow!" Shuu exclaims, rubbing his head and ducking under the door frame.

"Again?" she giggles, cupping her hand over her mouth.

"I thought I ducked low enough, these doorways are too short."

He sits down at his desk and the two exchange greetings, starting to chat.

"Is Sukone-san doing alright?" Shuu asks, pulling out school supplies from his backpack.

"I think so, she can be hard to read sometimes. She does seem relieved that she can rely on you."

"That's good. I can't believe someone would grab her like that."

"Yeah, it's shitty. She hasn't had a problem with him since though. He hasn't even looked at her," Kanon mentions, leaning her cheek on her hand.

"Good, the other day was a warning. Next time he won't be so lucky."

"Damn, you can be scary."

"When I need to be," he replies, crossing his arms.

"Anon and I have been walking her to class, I'm sure she would be fine but we're paranoid."

"Good idea, I can't say I'm confident about her walking alone either. I remember what it's like to get picked on, I hate to see it happen to her."

"I know," Kanon mumbles.

Shuu was picked on for a good portion of his life. After the school wouldn't do anything about the emotional and physical abuse He went to his father. He advised him to hit back. One day, a kid slammed Shuu into a locker and he lost his temper. He fought back viciously and was left alone soon after.

Ripping his thoughts away from the bad memories, Shuu chats with Kanon about the start of baseball season and how the first game went until the professor begins to speak.

—————————————————————————-

After class, Kanon and Shuu leave together.

"You got some free time later?" Shuu asks, stepping out of the classroom with Kanon.

"Yeah, why?"

"Want to hang out at the bowling alley later?"

"Sure! When were you thinking?" Kanon asks cheerfully.

"I have to go help my dad with a few things but I'm free in an hour."

"Alright, maybe Anon and Tei can come along."

"Good idea, you should message them." Shuu smiles in agreement.

"On it!"

—————————————————————

Kanon: hey girls, Shuu and I are going to go bowling later, want to tag along?

Anon: I'm down

Tei: hmm, I'm not sure if I want to be in public if I don't have to be...

Kanon: it's probably not too populated there since it's monday, if it is and we run into problems, I'll back you up and I'm sure Shuu will too

Tei: alright, i'll go

Kanon: awesome!

Tei: when were you guys going to go?

Kanon: in about an hour

Anon: that works with me

Tei: sounds good

Kanon: cool, I'll talk to you guys later

Anon: later

Tei: see you guys there!

—————————————————————————-

"Game on."


End file.
